Democrats howled when President Trump marshaled federal law enforcement and the National Guard to get crime under control in Washington, D.C. But Trump’s efforts, and those of his United States Attorney, have paid off:
Washington DC is on pace for roughly 42 murders this year — the lowest since at least 1930. Two years ago it had 274. Carjackings are also down (by 44%).
What changed:
1) New U.S. Attorney replaced a soft-on-crime predecessor and immediately started actually prosecuting,… pic.twitter.com/lfACWnrNyo
— Austin Justice (@AustinJustice) April 16, 2026
Full text:
Washington DC is on pace for roughly 42 murders this year — the lowest since at least 1930. Two years ago it had 274. Carjackings are also down (by 44%).
What changed:
1) New U.S. Attorney replaced a soft-on-crime predecessor and immediately started actually prosecuting, including seeking the death penalty for the worst offenders.
2) There’s more visible law enforcement presence now. Federal law enforcement and the National Guard deployed to cover a 50-year low in local police staffing — a hole created by city council budget cuts that some estimate will take a decade to fully close.
3) Ended policy of refusing to charge juveniles as an adult, signaling to the youth that there will be consequences for their crimes. The prior admin prosecuted exactly one juvenile for armed carjacking over a decade, so gangs recruited juveniles to steal cars. Arrest-to-offense ratio for carjacking went from 25% to 58% last year.
You can see the numbers for homicide and other crimes for 2024, 2025, and to date in 2026 here. Homicides are down year over year by 55%, following a 32% decline in 2025. That isn’t quite as low as the projected figure on the chart above, which is based on a little earlier date.
But the conclusion is obvious: President Trump’s crackdown on D.C. crime has worked splendidly.
